Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / iii / Paper 105 / 3 / b / iii / Solution

First construct the Dirichlet eigensystem. By part (i) and the Lax-Milgram theorem, the inverse $S=A_D^{-1}$ exists from $L^2$ into $H_0^1$. Elliptic regularity gives $Sf\in H^2\cap H_0^1$, and the Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem makes $S$ a compact operator on $L^2$. Symmetry givesso $S$ is a self-adjoint operator. It is injective, and $(Sf,f)=B[Sf,Sf]>0$ for $f\ne 0$. The spectral theorem for compact Hermitian operators supplies an orthonormal basis $(w_m)$ with $S{w}_m={\mu }_m{w}_m$, ${\mu }_m>0$, and ${\mu }_m\to 0$. Put ${\lambda }_m={\mu }_m^{-1}$. ThenRepeated elliptic regularity makes each $w_m$ smooth up to the boundary.

As with part (ii), the stated characterization omits boundary compatibility. At $k=0$, its right-hand side is finite for every $u\in L^2$ by Parseval identity, whereas its left-hand side would require $u\in H_0^1$. At higher orders, the preceding polynomial example is also decisive for the Dirichlet eigensystem: on $(0,\pi )$,Although this function belongs to every ordinary $H^k$, the weighted sum diverges at $k=3$.

The correct spectral characterization of elliptic Dirichlet domains iswith $X_k$ defined in part (ii). For finite eigenfunction sums the squared norm $((u,u){)}_k$ is exactly the weighted sum: even orders follow from $L^l{w}_m={\lambda }_m^l{w}_m$, and odd orders also use $B[w_m,w_j]={\lambda }_m{\delta }_{mj}$. These sums are dense in $X_1$: if $v$ is $B$-orthogonal to every $w_m$, then $0=B[v,w_m]={\lambda }_m(v,w_m)$, so $v=0$. They are dense in $X_0$ by construction, and the isomorphisms $A_D:X_{k+2}\to X_k$ propagate density to every $X_k$. Completion in the equivalent norms from part (ii) proves both directions of the corrected equivalence. In particular, the printed characterization is correct for $k=1,2$.